


A gift for a god

by PokerMix



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Original Work
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:19:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokerMix/pseuds/PokerMix
Summary: For the first time since the underworld was created, an innocent man is sent to Tartarus and punished unjustly, in parallel the underworld falls apart and Hades has to fix it





	1. Innocent

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. First of all, I don't know much English, it's not my mother tongue, maybe there are mistakes (corrections are accepted), I'm sorry for that, but I hope you enjoy the story

He was one of the greatest heroes that Greece would have had, but he didn't participate in the Trojan War, nor in any other war, neither was he a wise king to guide hundreds or thousands, save his people, but not in the way he would have liked, he was a gladiator and the memory of his actions and his own memories had been lost in time with the beginning of his death.

He felt the puncture of pain piercing his chest without warning and without understanding its origin, his breathing slowed down in a suffocating gasp, that's when he watched the long tip of the spear come out of his abdomen, covered in the familiar red color, his blood was warm as it ran down his stomach and low back, his body was cold and stiff from the pain, he didn’t feel well, but neither did he feel the suffering he thought he would experience the day his time will arrive and finally, with his vision clouded and his ears losing the distant sounds, he saw the figure dressed in black of a man coming near toward him before falling to the ground.

When he awoke his hand was caressing the cold waters of a river, the humidity filled the air and the gentle sound of the oar sailing without knowing the course relaxed him at first, he was tired and the fog kept darkening his thoughts, then he heard the cries of women and men asking for help and a journey, the crying and pain in their voices, a contagious despair that only forced him to remain with his eyes closed and let the river carry him in quiet unconsciousness.

When he reached the shore, he was practically thrown from the boat to the cold stone floor and the pain his bones must have felt when they crashed became something more related to the detachment of some limb than to the actual pain, as much as he wanted to lie on the ground until catches his breath, something amorphous and invisible pulled of his will to stand and walk, it seemed like a nightmare because under his feet he didn’t really feel that he was stepping on the ground that he had just felt against his face, or they moved as he would have liked, nor was he even sure that he was walking on the same material as before.

Under a denser darkness than a night without moon or stars, so much that not even the inside of his dark eyelids was enough to dispel the shadows that filled the place, he walked believing to hear what appeared to be the grunt of a furious dog threatening him closer than he would wish if he could see, couldn’t trust any of his senses because he could swear that the beast’s breath was tingling in the hair on his neck by moistening and warming his skin, fear was a constant and his clouded mind began to understand something so basic and raw tied to his survival instinct, that he was truly within perdition, beyond the desperate cries that continued to haunt him on his journey. 

Wandered by what he believed was a forest that he could neither see nor feel, although he could perceive slightly the tingling of various looks nailed like daggers on any of his movements, scanning, analyzing and judging him, like an animal cornered under the eye of an expert hunter.

He walked and walked and kept walking for what appeared to be days or maybe a few minutes until a thick, slightly hoarse voice pulled him out of the trance where he didn’t even know he was submerged and stopped.

"Tell me your name" The man wondered if he referred to him "Yes, you, wretched soul who now wanders the land of the dead and has come to the place of your judgment"

"Who are you?" Something told him he had neither the authority nor the faculties to demand an answer.

"Rhadamanthus, a judge, now responds" He was a little impatient "Your name" He tried to remember it and yet it just sprouted out of his tongue, with no intention of speaking.

"Sefiro, from Lipari" There was silence and Sefiro couldn't identify whether it was good or bad.

"How did you die?" The second voice was softer, still masculine but relaxed, it was impossible to imagine the face behind that voice, if it had one.

"I don’t know" Once again, he answered without wanting to open his mouth and move his lips "There was a spear…" His spear, it was cold, painful and silent.

"How do you feel?" There was a third voice with something rough in its intonation and more adult "Anger, resentment, do you want revenge?"

"No…" He choked on his own tongue "I don’t know" He didn’t know how to feel, it was just confusing.

"Your trust was betrayed and you were murdered" He began to inform him the first of all voices "What do you think you did to deserve such punishment?"

"Nothing" He answered quickly feeling the question more accusing than doubtful "I did nothing" The judges kept silent, the condemned was obliged to answer all their questions and always tell the truth, even if the three knew all of the defendant’s crimes.

"Did you murder your brother?" Minos asked. 

"No!" He had no brothers. 

"Did you rape his wife?" Aeacus asked.

"No!" He would never do such a thing like that. 

"You were stabbed by her?" It was Rhadamanthus turn. 

"I was stabbed, but…" He didn’t know who was, but before he could even defend himself he was interrupted by Rhadamanthus.

"Stop denying your crimes and start to repent, you’re not the first soul who tries to deceive us, why should we believe you?"

"I swear by the gods I'm not lying!" Contrary to what he believed, the judges began to laugh loudly about his oath.

"Don't swear in falsely or your punishment in Tartarus will be greater" Sefiro breathed agitatedly, would he be condemned to Tartarus and for something he hadn’t done? , it wasn’t possible. He was furious.

"I will swear on what I want, because you are nobody to stop me and at this moment I pray to Dike, goddess of justice that you who call yourselves judges, stop accusing me for acts I have never committed and will never commit" That bothered the judges, along with their haughty attitude and disrespectful and without hesitation all three reached a unanimous verdict, as they had never been wrong before.

"Sefiro from Lipari, you are a man of biting tongue and without remorse of any kind, one of the most cynical souls I have ever seen and who dares to swear in the name of the gods without any respect, your sentence will be to lose in yourself and wander the barren and driest plains of the kingdom of the dead spinning in endless circles for eternity, you will carry with you nailed in your stomach the weapon with which you were murdered and for your offense against the great goddess Dike, your feet will be chained to two rocks that you will drag with each step"

Sefiro tried to shout against him, however hands crawling from the darkness, held all the parts of his body and dragged him through heartbreaking screams to a lake where he was submerged and drowned until he stopped fighting.

He felt that he was still immersed in the water and that he was sinking like a dead weight like a stone into the bottomless depths, losing himself inside them, all memory of his life and himself.

…  
Something was wrong, however Hades couldn't specify what it was, it felt like an restlessness at the bottom of his mind or a disturbance in his environment, however as soon as it had appeared, disappeared and he forgot it for the next three days.

He walked near the Elysian fields without entering them, through a gray forest of dead trees that remained as perennial as the flowers of the fields, clearing his mind and the stress of all the sudden overwork he had had the day before, something strange and inexplicable had happened with the souls of the dead who stopped in their advance at the gates of his kingdom, but people kept dying and coming, so there was just a stagnation where no one could move forward but neither could leave, which made him personally take care of the matter and if it wasn’t enough, Hypnos who visited his brother Thanatos as was his custom and who was passing by the place, noticed his beloved dog, Cerberus feeling sick, instantly he thought he must have eaten something, but there wasn’t a single one of his servants who saw a living man roam the place and It was impossible for the dead to make the dog sick.

He thought of the matter as he headed back to his favorite resting place, a desert wasteland, filled with natural minerals shining in the midst of darkness on the ground as if the same daylight on the surface caressed its rich soil filled with golden jewels, it was like walking down a river of light while he admired the trees of the gray forest become pieces of polished quartz like the version of marble columns all along the way, until he reached a river of clean water that slowly and calmly flowed without making any noise, near it he sat down to be alone with his thoughts and meditate.

His calm didn't last long when he was interrupted by the familiar sound of light footsteps that even to be a divine being it was hard to hear.

"What brings you to my private resting place to interrupt Hermes?" He spoke before the annoying voice of God took away the last trace of quiet satisfaction he had.

"You know that I only like to travel to the depths of the earth to come and bother you" Hermes responded with a cheerful tone and indifferent to his comment.

"Well you did it, you can go" 

"I will do, after hearing you say hello to your favorite nephew"

"You’re not my favorite nephew" His eyebrows came together with clear disagreement and dislike for the boy’s vanity, although there was also a pull on the corner of his lips.  
"But I am the only one who comes to visit you" He couldn't discuss that "Although I like to spend time with you, this time my visit will have to be brief" Normally Hermes joked a little more with him before going straight to the point "You know that it's my job and I only carry the information, but I don't like to give bad news to the gods, I have two news for you Hades, which one do you want to hear first?" Hades rolled his eyes suppressing a sigh.

"Any is fine Hermes, they’re both bad, aren’t they?" The messenger of the gods nodded and made appear in his hand a letter that Hades instantly recognized.

"Persephone rejected your letter" He was direct, as nothing would avoid the disappointment that Hermes witnessed for brief seconds in the face of the older god.

Hades took the letter by looking at it silently for a short second before lighting a black fire on it that burned it to the ashes, it was the third letter that Demeter and Zeus' daughter rejected. Hermes tried to say something that would comfort him, but he was interrupted by a colder and waterproof Hades than the one he met the first time he made a trip to the underworld.

"What’s the other news?" 

"Mmm…" He took his eyes to the ground, there was no easy way to say it "A dead revived"

"What?" The surprise had brought him out of his mental numbness, he couldn’t think of an unrequited love when he was listening that the dead rise among the living.

"Apparently someone who was about to be buried came back to life and said that he had descended into hell and was about to cross a river, when he opened his eyes he was back with his family, the rumor spread quickly and Zeus entrusted Artemis with the task of ascertaining if the story was true, which indeed it is and I am here to ask you if you let anyone revive? , however under the circumstances, considering that you didn’t inform anyone about it and your expression of surprise, I doubt this has anything to do with you"

"Of course not!" He exclaimed almost indignantly "I would never let a soul go!" It was unheard, unacceptable, souls escaping from the underworld? No one dared to challenge his will, the will of death itself, will find the responsible, hunt him down himself and drag him to Tartarus… Even in the midst of his cold anger, he recalled the other problems he was having within his kingdom the day before and the association was inevitable, perhaps the question wasn’t who was responsible? , if not what? "Hermes" He didn’t look at the alluded directly, he was lost within his thoughts "You should go, I’m busy" Hermes was perceptive and imagined that it wasn’t a good time to offer his help, so he followed his advice and after saying goodbye, disappeared, leaving the god of death to seek for all the underworld any sign of anything out of place.


	2. Guest

The underworld was as vast and inaccessible as the oceans on earth, only someone with experience, strength and patience could travel each of its corners with the same efficiency as Hades, but that would take a long time and the problems were only increasing.

The most worrying thing of all was that the Phlegethon, river of fire that surrounded the Tartarus, was extinguishing, not only prevented the wandering souls of the dead from crossing into Tartarus, but it was also one of so many protections against anything that wanted to escape from there, a possible family reunion with his father and other Titans wasn’t even a topic of discussion for Hades.

So, with the help of Erebus, who was the darkness surrounding everything as an omnipresent entity, he heard a certain rumor coming from Tartarus, the evil tongues of the convicted criminals within this, they mocked the liar who claimed to be the innocent, obviously no one believed in his words and had become a joke to the dead and some creatures, of course Hades didn’t believe in anything like that either, But he went there just to make sure.

Inside, in the most shallow and nearest area to its limits, Hades looked for that man who was counted by his servants guarding the gates of the Tartarus, he was just a madman asking for help like many others, if he wanted to find him, all he had to do was walk towards south from where he was and find him dragging two stones tied to shackles around his ankles.

…

Every step with bare feet on the dry, icy ground was to step on fire and broken glass.

He had walkedwithout rest and without drinking water for what seemed more than a year and yet, he wasn't dead, the pain in his side was such that the cold air couldn't even get into his lungs, but it was a thousand times better than trying to remove the spear that caused it, every time his fingers grazed the frozen metal, his whole blood screamed in agony making him faint, he never wanted to feel that again, his only impulse to move was to look for some liquid or food, but no matter where he went he began to believe that he would find nothing, but he kept moving his heavy feet one in front of the other.

Surrounded by silence and loneliness, he heard what appeared to be footsteps approaching from behind and turned to see a tall man wearing black robes approaching him. That man, even though he couldn’t see it right, looked like an emissary of the gods sent right on the brink of his death to help him, or was it death that finally came for him to give him a break? , however it was, he was profoundly glad to see it.

He tried to call him, but his throat was dry and sore from so many cries of help that he uttered without response, now so close to an opportunity, the sounds didn't come out of his mouth, but when he saw the man’s face just a few steps away, that he understood, that he knew of the suffering and despair he felt at that moment and of the terrible fear, what would he do if the man ignored him and left? , if he didn’t come to help him, but to increase the punishment he felt he didn’t deserve? , to go back to uncertainty without knowing what would happen from there on.

"Are you the man who thinks he’s innocent?" It wasn’t a sweet, much less gentle voice, under a uniform and monotonous tone, anger was hidden. Sefiro nodded, he had no choice but to tell the truth "Why?" By that time the human shouldn't be able to remember anything, to know who he was, where he was and that the endless path he walked through eternity was a punishment and yet in front of Hades there was still a man with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, instead of the empty mind of a dead man clear of all his senses.

Hades noticed that he couldn't speak when he only heard a muted gasp in the form of syllables as an answer, definitely the human was something else out of place in the reigning chaos, but he didn't know if it was part of the problem or something different.

He looked at the man from head to toe, judging to the smallest detail looking to unravel some secret and get to know him as best he could, he was a gladiator, he was the first thing he noticed, his body and wide back, his skin full of scars, he had definitely killed some men, that spear in his side wasn't the result of chance, attractive, but not too young, the possibility of some children didn't escape, the look in his green eyes showed no hostility towards the lord of the dead, but on the contrary, he was looking for his help, definitely naïve for that, no clothes on him, but he wasn't ashamed because he didn't care that Hades came even closer.

Intimidation was his forte, but even with the man feeling small beside the god, he stood firm, hHolding the gaze of his cold blue eyes even though the rest of his body would fall to the ground on his knees because of the immense pressure he began to feel in the air, he had resisted so much just to surrender, he was only looking at the eyes of the man with black hair, even though this one were looking at his soul instead of their eyes.

Hades took his decision.

"Follow me" Was all he said before turning around and walking in the same direction he had come.

Sefiro looked at his feet and then the unknown man’s back began to move away, he couldn't follow him, but just before he felt the frustration burning his spirit, with a snap of Hades' fingers, the shackles broke and his feet were free to run and follow him.

…

He still had something to do before he let him into his palace, with some souls walking near the dark woods Hades told Sefiro to lie on the ground, it would be quick and easy, but not pleasant to see for curious souls and is that he used Sefiro as an example for the souls that behaved badly, with one foot holding on the lower back of Sefiro, using it to keep him firm and in his place, Hades took the spear and extracted it in a snap of bones and organs, it was a wound that never healed, but had assimilated the spear to hold it in place no matter how hard they tried to pull it out, it was easy for a god, for a mortal, Sefiro would surely have died of pain if he were still alive and as a dead man, his soul would have been shattered.

Hades snorted, the human should be grateful to him when he woke up for carrying him on his shoulder the rest of the way.

…

When Sefiro woke up he was in the middle of a bath of warm water, the scare came when small creatures he didn't recognize, ran around the place getting away from him as fast as possible, until leaving him alone, almost…

"Where are your manners?" Sefiro turned his head towards the voice in the background, where he noticed a man with blond hair sitting on the edge of the bathroom in the form of a pool with his feet in the water "They were only ordered to clean you, Hades doesn't want you soiling the floors of his house" Brown eyes and a light smile made the stranger’s face somewhat friendly, yet Sefiro didn't feel that way.

"Where...?" To his surprise his throat felt better, also his body, the warm water on his skin felt great, he had already forgotten that it was that.

"Where do you think you are?" He pointed out the bath of white walls and grey stone columns, too elegant for his eyes, very impressive.

"I don’t mean here" Although he turned his head in all directions to make sure I was safe, there was only one entrance, far behind the blond man "I mean…"

"I know what you mean" He cut with disdain and from his lips escaped a tired sigh "You are in the palace of the Lord of the underworld, as a brief guest, though ..." His feet waved the wáter "Guest isn't the word I would use, in any case, I suggest you behave, no one here will hurt you, but don’t think of it as a privilege either, you’re less than the servants who clean this place, you’re still a condemned and a sinner, the scum of the underworld" His dark eyes looked at him in warning "The lord Hades just wants to talk to you, answer his questions and let’s clear this" He smiled kindly again and this time Sefiro could believe he was more sincere. Tanatos also wanted to resolve was wrong with what he now called his home, and if the human cooperated in a good way, everything would be fine between them, easy.

He still had doubts about whether he could trust the human and leave him free, he didn't looking like a very innocent person, during the brief minutes he was observing him, he came to the conclusion that maybe it was good to keep his attention on him just in case.

Sefiro was attentive in trying to figure out what was happening with the little information he received, but he came across a mental wall that he found difficult to surround.

"Pluto?" He heard himself unbelieving, but mostly surprised "The god of death?" And he was talking about the underworld, did that mean he was dead? He suddenly remembered the spear in his stomach, so far he hadn’t even thought how he was alive with that thing going through him, now it made sense.

His hands, touching the skin of his ribs, waved the water around him and desperately looked for some sign, but there was nothing, only a white stain where there should be an ugly bulging scar, after he calmed down and began to digest the facts a bit, his eyes once again scanned the bathroom, it wasn’t much of his skepticism considering the absence of the spear and the fleeting fragments of memory where he was walking through a frozen desert, he was just having a hard time getting out of the initial shock, he had to digest it slowly.

Thanatos watched him holding a smile, hat was how humans were at first, foolish and confused, adorable deer dazzled by the truth of the divine, at least when they weren’t terrified and enraged with Thanatos when he had to take them away.

"Call him as you like and yes, the same god" Thanatos pulled his feet out of the water, stood up and pointed to the basket behind the human "There are clothes you can wear, I'll wait outside" He wanted to be polite and give him some privacy even if he didn’t deserve the kindness, so Sefiro was left alone and the terrifying revelation of information began to weigh on his shoulders, he didn’t know what to do.

He came out of the water certain that he would miss the sensation of warmth on his skin and wore the clothes that the man had given him, even if it was only a white robe and when he came out, Thanatos expected he just as he said, near the door, he began to walk through white corridors of red carpet, exactly the same one after the previous one and Sefiro followed him closely, thought that if he got distracted or walked away a bit he would never find his way out of that labyrinth, until out of nowhere, they came to a double ebony door decorated with black vines and golden knobs, simple but very elegant.

"Hades is busy right now, but he’ll be back soon, meanwhile wait here and eat something" Inside the living room was a table full of food, wines and fruit of different types that Sefiro had never seen and couldn't recognize. Around the room, in its three walls there were huge windows whit white frames that let the sunlight through the room, although that didn't make sense, because if they were in the underworld there should be no sun, he thought to ask and looked at Thanatos who raised an interrogative eyebrow but he reserved his questions for something more important, in any case outside there was a sunset with a very beautiful orange sky.

"Thank you" He said and Thanatos nodded, the human was behaving.

Sefiro looked at the ebony door close when Thanatos left and something screamed in his mind that he wasn’t so stupid to go open it and go out and explore, he couldn’t even cross the aisles all identical, he was alone, trapped and deep down inside scared.

He ignored the food for a while, focusing his attention on the windows, it wasn't until he was very bored that he came to inspect the contents of the feast and the temptation was greater than his manners, anyway the blond man offered to eat, so he took some green grapes and put them in his mouth, they were sweet and juicy and Sefiro felt that he hadn't tasted such a bite, he was really hungry, but before taking a pomegranate that looked especially red and delicious the doors opened surprising him, making him feel like he’s been caught doing something bad.

A tall man with porcelain skin, beard trimmed and hair black moderately long and straight, entered with his forehead held high and a very straight posture showing in every step and movement who was in charge there, Sefiro who hadn't been able to see it clearly before, although if he remembered the black color charcoal of his robe, he was dazzled by the elegant and graceful demeanor of a king, while his body was strong and powerful to the point of admiration, he was enraptured.

He had no doubt, he was Hades, by instinct or training from a past life, he kneeled down recognizing who was superior and bowed his head, it was a gesture of submission in which anyone could cut off his head.

Hades stopped and looked at the man who prostrated before him and a feeling of complacency filled his stomach, from among the Gods to be someone so important, he had very few devotees.

"Stand up" He spoke when he thought t had been enough and the human obeyed him, but didn't look up, not to see Hades directly showing any defiant gesture, he could smell fear, but also respect, It was a sour and spicy blend that he liked "Sefiro?" The man nodded, "Do you know why you’re here?" He shook his head denying and two small black servants like those he had seen before came in bringing with him a chair, which more than a chair looked like a great throne for the king to sit, in the room there was nothing but the table "I just got back from talking to one of my judges, Rhadamanthus, you remember him?" He passed by Sefiro and the food, scowling at this last one, heading for the makeshift throne.

"Yes, I… I think so" He bowed his head a little more, stuttering "Excuse me, my memory is a little fuzzy"

"I don’t doubt it, that’s why I won’t be too insistent with my questions, yet…" Sitting on the throne, with his elbows on his knees and fingers entwined, he leaned forward, interested and with a curious look in his light blue eyes "You shouldn’t remember anything, not even know who I am but you do it" The dead feared him because they felt they should fear him, like animals in front of the fire, the man standing in front of him was different "What is different in you?" Sefiro shuddered, feeling again the gaze through him and watching him from within.

"I… don’t know it"

"I’ll be honest" Hades rubbed his beard and Sefiro could recognize it as a gesture of tiredness "I’m very upset" Sefiro didn't think it was true, he had seen it before, now he looked more calm "But I'm not like my brother to vent out my anger on others, in all the years I has reigned here, I have never seen anything like this, your presence in the underworld brings great disasters to this place"

"My presence?" He hadn’t wanted to sound so skeptical.

"You were sent to Tartarus by mistake" He stopped seeing Sephiro hiding the great shame he felt when he admitted it, that was a great injustice under his laws and he knew he had to redeem him "But that's not what worries me most" After having shouted to Rhadamanthus and the other two judges for what they did, he began to investigate a little, not only in the underworld but also on the surface looking for the origin of that error "If you say you are innocent and you haven't done anything wrong, then who you are?" He proved it, he wasn’t that supposed man they sent to Tartarus, that man who had a different name and was still alive, accumulating more sins that he would later punish when he got down there "What’s your story?, What have you done?, What are your merits?, Your sins?, Who are you?" He repeated the question, looking away from his hands to meet the gladiator’s green eyes. When he looked for information about the man he found nothing, nobody knew him, nobody had ever seen him, as if he hadn't existed in the first place, Hades hated to admit it but it caused him a deep sense of restlessness in his entrails and a lot of curiosity...

Sefiro didn’t know that to answer, as much as he tried to remember he couldn’t do it, it was like his head was empty, there were so many things missing and he hadn’t noticed and for the first time he felt an oppression in his chest as if he was drowning and his eyes burned.


	3. Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> references... everywhere...

"My name" He fixed his green eyes into Hades' eyes and forced the knot down his throat before answering his question, it wasn't time to feel overwhelmed "It’s Sefiro and that’s all I know" His voice was firm although Hades remained silent for a moment analyzing the tension in his body, the gladiator didn't want to be defiant, but he didn't want to appear weak either.

"Fine Sefiro" He smiled softly, until now he had done very well and liked to have a new face with which to interact "Let’s change that" The alluder felt a tingling under his skin feeling the darker smile than he appeared "I brought some water from the river Mnemosyne, that will help you remember" With a gesture of his hand he pointed to the table in the center and on one of the corners there was a golden wine glass, although instead of containing wine he had water inside "Drink it" It was an order and Sefiro approached the table, he turned his head for some clue that would make him doubt Hades, but his expression didn't change.

He was already dead, was there anything worse than that? He convinced himself.

He drank it, but in addition to quenching his thirst, he did not feel anything happen, only Hades's attention on him intensified.

"Do you remember meeting any god or divinity before you came here?" I wanted to know if anyone was involved.

"I don’t remember anything" He said almost with a sigh, leaving the cup in the same place he took it and hearing the god whisper something he didn’t understand, but even without looking at the god, his eyes wandered over the fresh fruit, he was hungry and the memory of the taste of the grapes still seduced his appetite.

"It will be better you not to eat anything" He warned him with an irritated tone although the feeling wasn't directed to him, Sefiro looked with eyes wide open to the god who buried his face in his hands trying to contain the frustration, to be a god, in the last five minutes he had seen him very human "The maids have the habit of leaving food in the rooms for me to eat when I feel like it, but neither the dead nor the living must eat it, not if you want me to return you to the surface"

"Can you do it?"

"Why not?, you already caused enough disaster down here" He had begun to think that it would be better to banish him forever, it would also be the first time that a dead person would be banished, at every minute was getting weirder.

There was a heavy and long silence that forced Hades to look up.

"I’m sorry" He said it sincerely without any sarcasm, he wasn't blind and could know when something was wrong, to make an all powerful god look so tired and frustrated wasn't a good sign.

"No, it’s only fair" He knew he shouldn’t be blaming him, but it was difficult when the natural order of his world was altered for some reason he didn’t know and everything had started with him "They shouldn't have sent you to the Tartarus from the beginning, consider it an apology" There was a new uncomfortable silence between the two, more unpleasant than the previous one, if that was possible. The human was supposed to be happy, he could come back and forget all the bad things he had experienced in his short time there, make a new life and be even happier, instead he glanced at the food with an expression of anguish and guilt, like an open book that could be read "Did you eat? , isn’t it?"

"The man… said I could…" The room began to cool down very quickly.

At first he could see his breath in front his nose, before his lips and fingertips felt numb, then the rest of his skin felt the needles of the cold hurting him and the last thing he could notice before fainting was an angry Hades, so cold that the room was literally frozen.

…

He regretted what happened, from the beginning he shouldn't have been angry like that, it was just the stress and lack of sleep, but he didn't want to make them as excuses.

He had taken the man out of the room before he completely froze and had had him given a hot bath again and then let him rest in a guest room, giving it a use after centuries of accumulating dust.

He went out and spent some time alone in his favorite place by the river clearing his mind.

He didn’t know if sending him as far away as possible could work, probably not, killing him? like, completely erasing his existence from the universe? , that idea didn't was good either, it was very cruel, even for the god with bad reputation, to ask his brothers for help? nah, was to admit that he couldn’t handle his problems, seal him in the depths of the Tartarus? , that was stupid, he hadn’t completely ruled out that sending him there in the first place could have unleashed everything, given him a blessing? He had never favored anyone before.

It was two hours, maybe three, in which he appreciated not being interrupted even once, but knowing he wasn’t so lucky, wasn't surprised to hear the light and familiar steps of Hermes approaching with the hope of perhaps surprising him, the boy was naive if he thought he could get it.

"Lord Hades" He wasn't disturbed by his presence because in fact, he was who called the messenger to come.

"What have you have for my Hermes?" He stood up shaking the dust off his clothes and offered the other god to walk together as they returned to the palace and argued along the way.

"Nothing new, I'm sorry" He had sent Hermes to do a personal favor, the boy was efficient and reliable.

"It doesn’t matter" He began to lose hope "I haven’t talked to you in a long time, how is everything at Olympus?" He changed topic to casual one with the intention of distract and forgett.

"Everything is fine" Even Hermes found it strange that he asked "Nothing unusual, out of the family dramas" He joked a little with a light tone, he knew that what Hades needed at the time was a good laugh and he was willing to give it to him "Even though we miss you, it would be good to see you at the next party, Dionysus wants us all to try a new drink he discovered among humans and calls it beer and Hera…" However the bitter laugh that came from Hades' chest wasn¿t what he wanted to hear.

"I don’t think I can go Hermes, it’s a party after all"

"Contrary to what you think, no one hates you Hades, everyone wants to see you at Olympus" Or at least he wanted to see his uncle socialize with the family and prove to everyone that the god wasn't as bad company as everyone had been fooled by his isolation.

"Then, how do you explain the name of who shouldn't be pronounced?" Hermes was about to refute that when he noticed a soft curve in the corners of Hades' lips "I joke, you know I don’t go to parties because they all end up as very annoying drunks, I don’t need Zeus or Poseidon asking me to share a night with them… Again "Hades looked at Hermes' face blank, usually had an eloquent answer to everything he said, this time he had been taken by surprise, his smile grew "You didn't know? , right, it must have been before you were born" He suddenly felt old "It’s not secret, but when it comes to them they like to be discreet when they don’t get what they want, even if it was just drunken nonsense" He wasn’t sure what bothered him more, that they would never dare to propose something similar to him if they weren't under the influence of alcohol, that deceive their current partners at the slightest opportunity, to be a passing romance and only that. Anyway it wasn’t something he really cared about, just avoided the parties as much as possible.

"I didn’t know" Hermes admitted with seriousness and reflective face "Then my father and you Lord Hades, ever…"

"Didn’t you hear me?" He interrupted before Hermes formed that phrase "Your father has a serious problem controlling his impulses and is married to Hera, I respect that" They walked a long stretch in complete silence, they almost arrived at the palace and Hermes was the one who finally interrupted the silence with a question that he had wanted to formulate for years.

"Why didn’t you get married?... Sir" Hades looked at Hermes with mild disgust, he couldn't seriously think that he was being respectful, Hermes didn't hesitate even in his footsteps, but inside he felt a chill, he hoped hadn't been very confiding. It took Hades a long minute to respond.

"The right question is, who in their right mind would want to spend eternity with me in the underworld?" Although that was just an excuse. Hermes didn’t ask any more questions about it.

…

When Sefiro woke up he felt the pain in his body penetrating to his bones and recalled the cold making him shudder, it had nothing to do with the temperature, but with a desolate feeling that froze his body, it was terrifying, there wasn't other word.

He was alone, with no sign of gods or small creatures lurking around the place, sitting on a huge bed of blood red sheets and black covers, incredibly soft and comfortable. Like in the other room, in the room there was a window with a perpetual sunset, illuminating only enough to see the collection of shields and swords on the walls, there was a table with water and fruit near the bed, but he didn't want to eat anything.

The worst part wasn't knowing whether to leave the room or wait, he didn’t want to make any other mistake, like the fruit, but he also didn’t want to remain drowning in depressing thoughts, so he had an idea after. He felt his body with renewed energies and the pain disappeared very fast.

…

When Hermes entered in the room to meet the famous guest of the king of the underworld, he didn't expect to find the man of backs against a wall standing on his hands, sweating and bending with his arms and the weight of his body, though the truth was a sight that pleased him and when he turned and saw the face of who followed his footsteps very closely he could see that he had also liked it.

"Charming?" He whispered without the human hearing, and Hades grunted in response, giving him a silent warning with his eyes.

Both observed for a short time in silence without interrupting, but when Sefiro noticed their presence, both frowned at the strong blow that came from Sefiro falling to the ground.  
"No, he’s not," Hades whispered crossing past to Hermes to get close and help him stand up.

Sefiro would swear that he was hallucinating from the blow on the head, Hades entering the room helping him to rise holding his arm and with a worried expression on his face, no, such a fearsome god couldn't be so kind, although… Until now he had only helped him, not to mention almost freeze him, but that seemed more like an accident.

Almost forgot the other character in the room standing near the door recharged against a wall, sat on the bed and watched him sideways while inspecting the lord of the underworld, he was neither upset nor as tired as last time.

"I'm Hermes" The messenger approached with a big harmless smile when he saw the opportune moment, his first impression of the human was good, at no time had he turned his gaze away from him though he didn't look it, he was attentive, waiting, analyzing his intentions "I know your name, you are now quite famous, but I would prefer hear it from you" Hermes waited in silence and when Hades saw this going nowhere he intervened.

"If you both have finished your dramas, it would be good to focus on what is important" The messenger reserved his comments and corrected his initial opinion "Hermes sometimes works guiding souls to the gates of the underworld" He explained without hiding his smile sideways, it seemed that someone didn't like Hermes, which in itself was unusual "I wanted to know if you recognize him" Sefiro kept quiet for a moment by staring at Hermes before denying "What about you?" He turned to his nephew.

"No" He shrugged his shoulders before smiling from ear to ear "I would recognize a face like that anywhere" Sefiro frowned the eyebrows confused and thoughtful, Hades rolled his eyes without anyone seeing him, was beginning to be very annoying.

…

Hades offered to leave for a while and led him to the palace gardens, he still had some business with Hermes and to the strangeness of Sefiro, Hades left him completely alone, without any surveillance on the outside, like he was really sure he wasn’t going anywhere.

Though there was no sun or blue sky to behold, he could see strangely well the objects around him, the garden was beautiful, a little gloomy to tell the truth, but it possessed a beauty of dull colors and very lovely white flowers, harmonious with the place and simple, like all the belongings of Hades, he felt comfortable and quiet when walking through the gardens, he liked nature and he didn't hesitate to drop on the grass and sit next to a tree to spend all day.

It felt like a tranquility that he didn't deserve, so much that he didn't even hear any sound, of the wind blowing or the insects, so when he heard something he immediately responded by incorporating, that was the sound of a horse neighing.

He followed the sound that had caught his attention and behind the palace, far from the garden but still surrounded by trees was a stable, couldn't help but smile and feel something other than the numbness that had left him almost asleep since he woke up, he didn’t even hesitate to come and enter.

There were four huge beasts of a immaculate black colour, that looked at him curiously.

…  
He sent a new letter to Persephone with Hermes and made a brief inspection to his domains by the river with the old Charon, everything seemed fine, functioning as always, but he wanted to have an attentive eye, it was still too early to assume that everything was fine and he hurried back.

His servants would have informed him if something was wrong with Sefiro, not see him in the gardens where he left him almost panicked, He couldn’t have disappeared of nowhere or crossed the woods outside the gardens, the beasts would eat him, he almost called for Thanatos to help him but decided to breathe a little and start looking for him himself, he didn't want to give the image of being a useless one that couldn't keep a simple soul in control and the whole underworld in order, his leadership ability had been questioned too many times.

It was after five minutes that he thought to look for him in the stables near the gardens and almost sighed with relief as he saw him hugging one of his horses.

He looked small compared to any of his animals, seeing him riding on one must have been something fun to watch. The animals were calm, could even say happy that the human was caressing them and giving attention, Hades looked for a few minutes at his horses being meek with someone other than himself or Thanatos, the only ones who fed and cared for them.

The human had something special, each time was more convinced, , something that managed to keep an animal as unpredictable and suspicious as his horses, appeased and pleased with his presence, something that also made him feel a little confident and generous, something familiar…

He realized, that this impression he had and that feeling he called familiar, was the same that the souls of the Elysian fields transmitted to him, he knew that the man who could only remember his name had done something important, something that exalted him over others, the universe was somehow on his side and the pieces began to make sense and as he had practically been expelled from his cursed lands.

"They like you" He spoke scaring him by the sudden sound of his voice "Do you like horses?" He had always been a little clumsy to talk about banalities with people, he was always more direct and almost everything was about work.

"They are ..." His hand came back to caress the velvety fur "Amazing"

"They were a gift from Poseidon" He began to advance towards Sefiro "So that I could travel to Olympus comfortably" And yet he had only gone three times in them. Hades paid a little attention to his horses who were happy to see him.

"With all due respect... my lord" It was all right for he to start calling him that, wasn’t it? "What am I still doing in your palace? , don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your hospitality, it’s just that…" He bit his lip, still couldn’t decide whether or not to be afraid of him "It’s just that, I don’t deserve to be here, I’m a prisoner, I understand, but I have a bed and I can take baths, isn’t that unnecessary?"

"Maybe it is" He wanted to play along even though he didn’t agree "Maybe not, but you forget there’s nowhere else you can go" He didn’t mention the Elysian fields, he didn’t want to do it "You ate the fruit that grows here" Sefiro looked down, he knew, he knew this would be his new reality from now on, maybe he just needed to be told once more time "I'm the lord of this place" He use a more dominant voice "And here is done what I dictate, the souls and everything that is here belong to me" Sefiro felt that strength and power around him in the air "So don’t question my decisions" Before he realized, he was standing in front of him "I give you what you deserve" And just like his words, everything in Hades felt absolute.

The green eyes stared at the blue but not with fear, but pure fascination.

Sefiro nodded, what he felt at the time was a mixture of admiration, rapture and magnetism, he knew that the weak followed the strong, he simply imagined what it would be like to serve someone like Hades, maybe he could work for him, like Hermes, only maybe…

He couldn't deny the irresistible warmth of Hades' lips against his own and the spark that ignited at such short distance, he could breathe the intoxicating fragrance of his skin when he was pressed against a wall and heard nothing but the buzzing of his erratic heart in his ears, it was only an instant of corresponded desire, submitting to the only man he believed could get over him no matter what he did, he didn't feel like that around Thanatos that frequenting the palace, nor with the god Hermes he had just met, or any other entity superior to a human in the underworld.

Before he died (not literally), rather than let one of them lay a hand on him, he felt himself sufficient, able to respond in any circumstance and being so, there he was, feeling more fragile than he really was and especially more vulnerable.

When his lips parted, bright blue eyes watched him from above and he knew that they both held their breath, stopping the moment, but then in his gaze the doubts crossed and the king of the underworld turned away from Sephirus and the stable.

Sefiro leaned against the wall and hit his head turning to look at the ceiling, he was sure he didn't know what he was doing and yet he licked his lower lip remembering the taste of his king.


	4. Immortal

There wasn't a single thing that Hades regretted in his life and he wasn't going to start now, no, it wasn't about that, but he failed in the self control of which he was so proud and kissed someone out of pure attraction and carnal desire.

That wasn't something he wanted, he wanted a wife, a queen, to love him and accept his burden, not an adventure or a meaningless romance, he wanted to love someone and be loved, give himself completely to that special person and know that what he felt and wanted would last a long time.

He was a sappy dreamer who knew that what he wanted couldn't be reality, so he settled to form a formal and regular relationship, which fulfill the minimum of his expectations, he had tried it with Persephone, his sister’s daughter, who knew she had a big heart and still had no man she had ever loved, Hades wanted to be that man and show her that he could be better than anyone but Persephone wasn't interested, although he kept trying, he wasn’t planning on taking Hermes' joke of kidnapping her seriously.

Maybe… he wasn’t seeing it the right way.

…

Sefiro hadn't seen his king in a couple of days and was beginning to seriously wonder if he had somehow frightened him with what he had done, to laugh at himself after just thinking about it, he was more likely to be upset, for lack of respect, for daring, for anything, that frightened, even if it had been lord Hades who dared to kiss him? , or was it him? he didn't remember that in detail, but he was beginning to feel that he would be thrown out of the palace very soon.

The two occasions he saw Thanatos from his first meeting, the god was kind and granted him some of his time accompanying him to eat a small snack while they talked about what had happened to Sefiro and the terrible misunderstandings, it was the blond god who made him aware of everything and Sefiro could only hear with his eyes wide of skepticism and feel more empathetic about the lord of the underworld once he reflected later on the solitude of his room.

This, his new home in the underworld felt so desolate and apprehensive, so quiet and full of a monotonous peace that almost drove him mad, with only the distractions of the maids whom he had become fond of like sweet kittens surrounding him without interacting with him and Thanatos. Pe practically felt the joy overflowing in his pores when he was called by the god he so much hoped to know, to his throne room.

There he looked with a look full of amazement since he crossed the huge gates of polished iron, the great hall completely made of sales on either side but which were moderately covered by black curtains that whispered how soft they were, huge chandeliers of glass and candles that illuminated the entire room and a throne worthy of a king after crossing along all those huge marble pillars.

At the center of everything and towards the background, he was looking down at Sefiro in a way that could be confused by boredom and disdain, yet Sefiro felt naked by that look, not in a literal sense, was the look that Hades gave him and that penetrated under his skin, with which he was already familiar.

He felt a strong tingling in the center of his stomach and approached with his weak knees, but he stood firm, showing the courage that he might once have been proud of but it was now flattened roundly.

"My… Lord" He still felt a little strange to say, but he presented himself as he had before prostrated himself.

"You really look like a strong man Sefiro, you have manners and you know your place, have you ever served anyone else?" The alluded one still nailed the glance in the ground, surely he knew the answer but he replied.

"No…" He didn't remember being anyone’s servant, perhaps… He really couldn't imagine being one and yet, there he was bowing his head.

"So you just fought to entertain the masses?" Assuming he was a gladiator, even if he was just testing with questions.

"I don’t know" The king wasn’t interested, he was just having a cordial start.

"Look at me Sefiro" He raised his eyes although he held his breath, seeing him had always been a privilege "You are literally an enigma to me, the first human who escapes my standards and when I look at you…" Sephirus shuddered to feel a tingling in his nape, when he realized Hades was no longer on his throne but had appeared behind him, but he dared not turn and kept his eyes on the throne that withouta sovereign seemed cold and gray "I don’t see what I would expect to see, your secrets, your fears, your desires" God’s deep voice caressing his neck made him remember what happened in the stable and made his body respond by shaking his pulse and his calm "There is no mortal who can lie to me nor immortal who can deceive me, but you... There is no lie if there is no sincerity and there is no deception when you don’t even know what you want to get" It wasn’t his imagination to feel the back of a few fingers caressing his shoulder "You are a delicious soul in its purest state, more than one would like to steal you from my hands and there is something resplendent within you" Hades' fingers touched him again but this time on his back, subtle, soft, melting first with his clothes, then with his skin and then with something that left him breathless and made him gasp "That’s it" He wanted to look over his shoulder turning his head but just to meet the blue orbs of his eyes prevented him from "Accept it Sefiro, just let yourself go" He didn’t understand what was happening but the voice was very persuasive, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the heat that filled his body, everything was more of the same and suddenly he started to feel really good, big, strong hands held him up preventing him from falling "What is this?" Was he within him? "A blessing?, divine protection?" It was too much for his senses.

"Hades…" He whispered, calling him by his name felt personal, closer… were they not too near to each other to justify it?

"Don’t worry… I’m just looking at you" What Hades was doing was seeing and manipulating a soul as only he knew how to do, it was such a fragile and delicate thing between his fingers, beautiful things that he compared with stars and what he held at that time was beautiful but human.

He looked deeper into the lake of thought and ether than it was formed and saw something that if Sephirus had not accepted his meddling, he could not have seen, something that in itself was not ugly, but it stained something that was rightfully his with another name, but his astonishment overshadowed his displeasure.

_Gaia_

Sefiro shuddered and Hades held him tightly, it had been as if he had been thrown into a frozen lake.

"Relax" He whispered directly into his ear, his warm and soft tone warmed it up again.

Hades kissed him behind his ear, but he tried nothing more than his soft hands comforting him, Sefiro wanted more, he wanted to hear his voice again and feel his lips against his own, he wanted to melt against his broad chest and daydream that Hades wanted him as much as he did at that moment.

The melancholy voice of the god of the dead dragged him into reality.

"What do you want, Sefiro? I notice your interest in me and I won’t hide that I also feel something for you" Maybe the loneliness was finally affecting him, he couldn’t resist one more second without claiming he, was he willing to take a chance? to get out of the comfort of an idealistic fantasy to have something with the first human who caught his attention? to leave his distant love for Persephone, a woman who wasn't there for a man who was at that moment in his arms, who without telling anithing in his eyes shone forbidden desires towards the god.

He saw them when he was inspecting his soul, that he thought about Hades and although it wasn't love, although it wasn't yet love, it was enough.

Although he asked him a question, he couldn't think clearly, completely overwhelmed and dizzy but he made an effort to answer.

"It isn't my intention to be disrespectful and yet when I see you my Lord, I felt attracted to you, like birds to the sky or plants to the sun, you have my gratitude, I can't imagine what my destiny would have been without you and…" He felt a little heat coming up his face.

"And?" He insisted enchanted by the words of the human, it was surely the gentlest thing he had heard, he wasn't used to gratitude.

"I'd like to be of use to you" Anything, just to be close.

"Only useful?" He was surprised at how Hades was listened disappointed, it wasn’t just that, but he wasn’t sure how to express what he felt, it seemed impossible, not with such an important god as Hades. It was seemed a wasted opportunity when he noticed the empty space between them, Hades had released it.

"Not only useful!" He turned on his feet and bit his tongue when he heard his own voice surpass the silence of the throne room, but a satisfied smile was drawn on the lips of the tallest.

"So you want to be something else?" Hades wasn't too far enough to reach out and touch his face, from the pronounced angle of his jaw, through his rough skin and the beard, to his chin.

"Yes" He was frank but not direct with the god and himself, leaning against the hand that caressed him so sweetly.

He wanted to be selfish, he wanted to be impertinent and he wanted to be more than a servant to the god who governed all, not to be one more, but the only one, to desire whit lust the king of the underworld, he had come to desire the heart of this one.

Started with just a little, with a kiss that sought to be enough to be satisfied with until he was rejected one more time or be the last before being punished for sinning, a kiss he took approaching Hades' lips, closing his eyes and tasting the delicious sensation of these, the memory wasn't compared to the reality and the electrical sensation that filled his body multiplied.

Sefiro only withdrew when he heard the loud rumbling of the doors being slammed shut and tried to look over Hades' shoulder to find out who had done it, saw no one and his eyes turned to the blue ones carrying the question he didn't answer, instead he took the waist of Sefiro and attracted his body near his before leaning once more and kissing him.

…

Sefiro still wasn't overcome skepticism, to be sitting astride in Hades' lap on his throne, kissing the god and sinking his fingers into the dark strands of silky hair to keep him in place and not let a second of air escape, while he slid his clothes down his shoulders and pulled them aside.

Hades admired the little Adonis on top of him, with his chest bare and a little red, agitated and a fierce look, moving his hip in short shakes that only pretended to arouse more lust in the god and stimulate his own greedy pleasure, over the fabric he could feel his new lover getting impatient and he liked that.

He wasn't a lover who let himself be led to bed serenely, at the time Hades wasn't indulging his lips, Sefiro began to kiss his neck, descending from his jaw until he liked a place of sensitive skin to stop and scrape with his teeth.

The god growled between a mixture of raw stimulation and emotion, had the guts to think it was okay to leave a mark on his skin, but he didn't, Sefiro pretended to be the one who first digs his teeth into Hades but only held his tender flesh between them, he was reproached with a strong pull of his hair on the back of his nape, tearing out a gasp, was rough, but not enough to lessen his excitement, except when Hades imitated him and this one left a red, almost bleeding mark on his skin, where everyone could see it, where everyone could know, Sefiro screamed but almost felt the pleasure completely overwhelming him.

"Do you wish to be my queen?" Hades asked absently after licking the wound.

"No" Sefiro’s voice sounded much more affected "Queen no" It was a strange title for a man and the idea that everyone thought he was Hades' wife didn't like it at all, though technically it was.

"Then how should I call you?, my consort" He didn’t know that making love with the god of death gave him so much power.

"I don't deserve any title..." Hades practically finished tearing off the rest of the clothes and blue eyes traced the lower part of his body, Sefiro shuddered knowing what was going through his mind.

"If you’re going to be my lover, you deserve that people recognize you as such" And perhaps in the future, also as the mother of his children, but he kept silent, it was still too early to dream about that, or to mention the naive human.

…

Sefiro woke up not knowing where he was, only that he felt tired and the bed he was on was very comfortable, a fresh sensation around his waist made it perfect, slowly with his face still buried between pillows he was remembering what Hades and he started in the throne room and brought to majesty’s quarters and that the extra weight of the arm around his waist and back was none other than the owner of the room, slept next to him, hugging him.

He didn’t want to wake him, so he waited a little longer, until he was the one who fell asleep and when he woke up again, he was alone, it wasn’t the morning he expected to receive but he couldn’t complain, he wasted his opportunity and imagined that Hades didn't want to disturb him either, not after being so tough to him.

He looked his empty side of the bed and twisted his lips, Hades was really silent, not only when he arrived without warning, but also when he left. Sefiro yawned and tried to stand up, although he didn’t know why, he was alone and there wasn’t much to do, maybe he would take a walk in the gardens and think.

He felt strange, in conflict, he was happy but also distressed, perhaps talking a little with someone would have helped him, but who?

In the gardens he spent most of the day, although time wasn’t his strong point if the heavens were always as black as a wolf’s mouth, he wondered what his king was doing at that time, important things perhaps, he felt useless wasting his time, he thought a lot about Hades and how he practically didnt know the god and at the same time ýes, knew what his character was like, his personality, his honesty, his good intentions... All the time he was watching.

It was Hades himself who came for him when Sefiro imagined it must be too late, it seemed like only a few hours when he was invited to dinner with him.

The palace was a huge place, every room, every hallway and there were so few things filling the space as decoration on the walls, he wondered if Hades didn’t feel very lonely living in such a place while he walked watching his back in silence.

The food was delicious and he was sure that his palate had never eaten anything so fine, the baths in which he showered beside the god were also something his eyes could never see outside the palace, and once again he ended up in his lover’s bed, being protected by the arms of the strongest man he would ever know.

"Sefiro" He spoke with a soft voice lying on the bed beside him, looking at the alluded from the front, nose to nose, while Sefiro relaxed between the vigil and an exhausted slumber "You’re hiding something from me" It didn’t sound like a question, neither bothered but his blue eyes were firm and sharp, his sleep disappeared after that.

He thought about lying, but then he thought better, probably Hades already knew and the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint him.

"I remember what I was doing before I died" He confessed, he had always affirmed that he remembered nothing, but after drinking that water that Hades brought, the memories had slowly appeared. Hades kept silent and waited, Sefiro understood it as a sign for him to keep talking "Everything was a mess" He wasn't happy to remember something like that, blood, fire, screaming everywhere "I… was working to protect someone important" He spoke slowly, feeling his mouth dry "But he was not a good person, I had to protect him, but I… We ran... and I don’t know what made me do it, but I had a knife and I cut his throat, it was my turn to escape, but someone stuck a spear in my back" Hades put a hand on Sefiro face and caressed his cheek to calm him down.

"That man must have been asomeone terrible" Even if Sefiro thought he didn't need any comfort, he still felt grateful "Before you died, or perhaps long before, Gaia gave you a gift" It was Hades' turn to be honest, he keep touching his cheek "The past have many paths, the gods can see some like Apollo, but not all, you killed a man Gaia wanted you to murder, but the actions have their consequences, so Gaia wanted you to be rewarded in the next life" But even he didn’t know what changed, could have been a war, a time of poverty and famine, or something bigger, that was why he couldn’t be sent to the Tartarus, Gea wouldn’t allow something like that.

Sefiro analyzed it for a long minute without seeing Hades directly, it almost seemed that he had been used by the gods, but seeing Hades once again, he couldn't assure that, his god wasn't a part of it, when he returned to pronounce words there was something in his voice that moved Hades' harsh nature and made him hold Sefiro tightly, Sefiro just closed his eyes and for a moment wanted to believe that this was his reward and that he deserved it.

"Why me?"

Hades didn't have an answer, instead he wait for him to calm down and during that time he rubbed his back.

"That doesn’t matter anymore"

…

Sefiro felt better, now he didn’t even care about minor things about himself and his stay in the underworld, as if he had already begun to assimilate everything, including his relationship with Hades who turned out to be a more loving and caring man than he had imagined from the beginning, it was the soft and tender side of the god that made the old gladiator ended up falling in love.

Though he was a busy boss, when he had time and could, he spent his time with Sefiro and took him out of the monotonous palace to know the underworld, he’d been coming out of the safe woods for two months and he still didn’t know half the place, truly immeasurable, his favorite place, besides the personal gardens of Hades, it was the Elysian fields, a true earthly paradise, but he didn't spend his time there, it was too perfect, too pure and resplendent, it just wasn’t his thing.

Hades gave him presents and Sefiro regretted having nothing to give to the god even if Hades wanted nothing back, he felt like a queen with the servants of the palace doing everything for him, although he had insisted a thousand times that they didn't treat as one, however he was still filled with attentions, including the same god, he couldn't deny that he liked it a bit coming from this last one.

He was fed up, if he had to hear a "my queen" or let them dress him, he’d pluck one of the swords off the walls and that one wouldn’t just be an ornament.

So at the slightest opportunity, he took it.

"I can help you" Sefiro volunteered to help the other minor god Thanatos who didn't stop talking to Hades during the meal and looked agitated, they were talking about Poseidon and a tsunami, referring to other people he didn’t know and the catastrophe that would be, all the deaths and the unplanned overwork, the private life that the god couldn't have for that kind of eventualities.

Thanatos was well informed of his relationship with Hades and Sefiro didn't know whether he agreed or not, Thanatos never said anything and Sefiro never asked, assuming it must be something obvious and that he hadn't noticed. Both gods looked at him surprised and exchanged an accomplice look.

"You know my job is to collect the souls of the dead" Said Thanatos making it even more obvious, although he was right, Sefiro didn’t see a way to help with that "And without the slightest intention of offending, you’re also a soul…" He was interrupted by Hades.

"Wait Thanatos" The blond kipt silent and raised an interrogative eyebrow "I’ve been thinking for a while how to help Sefiro find a task in the underworld, you said yourself that the number of human souls is increasing"

"Yes, but…"

"I want to revive Sefiro" This one only observed the dismayed look of Thanatos.

"That's fine, but..."

"So he could help you with your work and I could also take him with me to Olympus" Sefiro felt that he was once again losing part of the conversation, but he was polite and waited for Hades to finish.

"Revive me?"

"Take him to Olympus?" First Hades answered to Sefiro.

"I can revive you, I didn’t do it before because either way you wouldn’t have left this place, however, maybe, there’s a way you could go out and work with Thanats, I’m sorry, I wasn’t being totally honest before" He looked into his eyes, apologizing sincerely "You can go out, but you have to come back, otherwise you would starve with food from the surface, it might look like an escape, but you would always end up coming back" He expected Sefiro to understand, it was different before, now he wanted to do everything he could to give him a chance to enjoy his new life, with him and make him happy, there was no answer, just a thoughtful look at the ground. It was the turn to respond to Thanatos "I want to introduce Sefiro formally"

"Well, Hades…" He quickly returned to a more serious mask "You know I’m fine with it and I’m happy for you, but a human in Olympus…"

"Not human, immortal" Hades approached to Sefiro "I will take with me the new soul collector, what do you think Sefiro?" He breathed deeply, how could he say no to Hades' happy expression? Was it his imagination or did he look even ten years younger?

…

Immortal…

He discovered the great difference of being a wandering soul, a living entity, able to feel fully, the strange attractive of seeing his skin recover a little of its tan color and see blood in his veins beating instead of the sickly red color that only sprouted from your wounds and the pain… Even the pain was different, with a comforting meaning that made him know that he had to protect himself and not the void that whirled in an endless spiral, being alive was a gift that Sefiro would be sure to appreciate from now on.

But just like he felt different, the underworld too, more dark, more gloomy, more suffocating, the atmosphere around him and all that negative energy that sprang up from the dead beside those he walked, made him sick, he noticed it in the nausea and the dark marks on his skin and under his eyes, so Hades forbade him to approach the condemned for a while, he was still a human and even if he hated to even think about it, his body was weak under the conditions of a world full of torment.

His empathy didn't change and if there was something where he truly admired Hades above all things it was the great leadership, his conviction and his strong morals to deal with the suffering of others, his admiration grew and he decided to start learning from him, because he would soon share a part of the heavy load.

"To be the death, is to be absolute" Sefiro and Hades took a bath together, but it wasn’t like a normal one, starting with the water that was a turquoise blue color by the minerals and essences that the king used to submerge his lover’s body in them, up to the candles, bright quartz and aromatic herbs around them. It was a moment of relaxation and Hades took the opportunity to explain what he should know about death "Close your eyes" Sefiro obeyed relaxing his back against Hades' chest, whose hands rested on his waist "Visualize the light" He imagined the color white, something shining like the sun "The place of souls is there, but you must never approach, you are the shadows that move around the light, you are the path but not the end and you will be the starting point" Sefiro felt his body relax, with his mind deepening in the teachings of Hades "You are impartial, you are the fear, but you are also salvation" God’s lips approached to his ear whispering, hiding in background a tinge of seduction "You are my emissary, the bearer of my name and my voice, you will use my power to apply my law and my will, so you will return the lost sheep back to their flock, but you will also be the wolf that devoured the sick and corrupted" 

Sefiro could feel the words engraving inside him, as if his bones were the paper where he could write and his blood was the ink of a contract, Hades wanted to make sure that he fully understood what he was doing and its implications, he kept asking him if he was completely sure of what he wanted.

There was silence and a static in the air, Sefiro breathed the sweet fragrance in the steam and spoke with loud and clear voice.

"You know my opinion won’t change from the last minute" Even so he smiled happily when he heard him so worried.

Hades continued to whisper sweet things to him and kiss him from the skin of his shoulder with vanilla flavor to behind his ear where he tickled him, still fascinated by the incredible warmth he could feel as he decided to open up a place for someone else in his feelings.

"How do you feel?"

"What do you mean?" He raised a hand looking for his lover’s face feeling his beard on his fingertips before admiring the familiar contours of his face.

"Just because you’re immortal doesn’t mean you should be careless, you need to eat more" He emphasized whit the bones in his hip, it seemed like he’d lost weight, Sefiro didn't want to worry him with his health and made a mental note to start eating more and keep doing exercising.

"I've been better" He admitted pulling out a small laugh from the god.

"For now rest, tomorrow Thanatos will be the one to teach you about his work" It wouldn't be something easy, but neither he wanted to leave him the hardest, so he asked the other god to let Sefiro first become familiar with the nature of death and then leave him alone with those who had a more peaceful ending, he didn’t want him involved in the accidents or the acts of murder, only because Sefiro had insisted for a long time that he wanted to do something.

Sefiro tried to turn to face the god still recharged in his chest giving him a quick kiss, before another one deeper and much less innocent.

"Thank you, for letting me help you and Tanatos"

"You know you don’t need to do it…" Sefiro interrupted him with a new caress on his lips before letting him start that conversation again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Do it, you can ask me anything"

"Wouldn’t you like to come out more to the surface?" There was a minute of silence where the god did not seem angry, just reflective.

"There is nothing that prevents me" Although Sefiro kept silent waiting for a more extensive explanation he didn't have it, at least he didn't disagree.

"I spoke to Hermes" The messenger went almost every day and interrupted Hades in his moments of rest, when he wasn't there, Hermes took the habit of replacing him with Sefiro, although he only came to speak for a few minutes, sometimes give a message and then leave, but last time Sefiro had been a bit curious and asked him things about his lord, he wanted to know what Hades was like with other people, to know him from different perspectives "He told me about Persephone" He knew jealousy and there was still a burning stinging mark when he thought of it "Do you still love her?" He placed his hand in the middle of his chest and Hades surprised by the question inclined his head slightly to see better the expression he was trying to hide, he had never understood Zeus and why he liked Hera’s jealous, but now, looking at the evasive and timid eyes of Sefiro, the thin line of his tight lips and the tense of his features, he understood a little better, but he didn’t have the heart to make Sefiro feel bad.

"Persephone…" The name he had once treasured on her lips, now it sounded cold and indifferent "She is a kind and charming goddess, but this place and what I am is too much for a delicate flower like her" He felt the body of Sefiro tense under his hug "For a time I was silly and didn't see what I really needed, I can't have a flower growing in the shadows, I have you, you are a jewel, resistant and beautiful, that shines splendorously with the most subtle ray of sunshine" The flattery was something that started to feel good.

"That's a no?" He insisted and Hades smiled brightly.

"It's a no" He assured, also meant that Hermes and he would have an interesting conversation the next time he saw him "You're the only one I love"

"I love you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the end is this, the next chapter is just an epilogue


	5. Epilogue

The news of Eurydice was something tragic, more for the living who had to see the unfortunate of Orpheus suffer his loss and try to do the impossible to recover she.

For the dead and especially for Sefiro, it was another day of work helping Thanatos and the first one that the god wanted to let him handle alone, when he saw the young woman lying on the floor, she was wearing a wedding dress and she looked really beautiful, although she must have felt a lot of pain with the bite of the snake, she rested with a peaceful face.

He admired her with respect for a few seconds and then he leaned over and took her hand to wake her up and take with him to where she belonged.

She opened her eyes and only saw a stranger trying to drag her against her will, just like Aristaeus.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" She wouldn’t be kidnapped, she had to marry whit her beloved.

Sifiro didn't leave go her because if he did, she would run away and wander lost and alone in the earthly world, he wouldn't know if he could find her again and lead her safely to the underworld.

"Orpheus! Orpheus!" He still couldn’t get used to the dead, they were always so scared and confused, it was sad and many times he couldn’t help thinking what it would be like if he were in their place, but he knew it was the best and the right thing to do.

"Orpheus can’t hear you" He spoke calmly and prepared his speech which he had already practiced, he had stopped counting the times he had said it, but something stopped him, perhaps the wedding dress, perhaps the plea in the name of his beloved, maybe he was just feeling tired that day, so he said something different " Eurydice, do you want to see Orpheus?" Despite the crying she heard him and after a minute his sobs had diminished "If I took you to see Orpheus, what would you do?"

"What do you mean?" His voice was small and choked "I have to marry him"

"Why don’t you look behind you?" Instead of answering she turned her head, as he said behind her, on the ground she saw something that made her shiver, without understanding her eyes returned to the man dressed elegantly in black "I'm not going to separate you from Orpheus, I promise, you just have to wait a little longer" He smiled kindly for her and this time when he gave a gentle pull of her hand she didn't resist.

"What is…?"

"You’ve died" Sefiro waited for the sea of tears that followed, but he don’t stop walking, he was in a hurry, he still had to pick up two more people, before coming back with his own love "You know, it’s not so bad" He tried to comfort her "You don’t feel pain anymore, do you?" She thought about it and gave him the right "Everything will be fine"

"Who you are?" She followed the man, but she didn’t know where they were going or why she felt so calm to hear his voice and so confident with the touch of his hand.

"I am…" No sense had to tell her his name, everyone forgot it, but still he did "Sefiro"

"I never heard name like that"

"Is an old name"

"How do you know my name?" To her Sefiro felt like someone familiar, almost like Orpheus.

"I know everything" He was disappointed at the lack of response in Eurydice "I'm kidding, I heard it on the way here, you scared some people when you disappeared" Everyone was worried about the bride who ran away, they’d soon know what really happened.

"I had to do it" She felt suddenly ashamedand couldn’t help but think about what people would believe, she hoped her dear Orpheus would understand "Tell me, is he okay?" Sefiro knew who she was talking about.

"He is," She breathed more calmly and was relieved, yet she looked back, watching her walk away from everything and everyone "Do you think you can wait?" She didn’t have an answer at the time.

When they both entered through a crack in the ground and disappeared into the darkness Eurydice approached Sefiro, a little scared.

"How was Orpheus?" He was hoping a little conversation would distract her, there was still a long way.

"He..." She looked at his bare feet that even though they touched the irregular path didn't hurt her "I'd rather not talk about it at this moment"

"I understand" He wasn’t used to talking to the dead, most just crying in silence.

"What about you?" Sefiro looked at her curiously over his shoulder.

"What about me?"

"Do you have someone special? Can death fall in love?" Sefiro let out a soft laugh.

"I don’t remember the last time I talked to someone new about this, it’s always the same faces all the time, how long will it be?, half a century, perhaps" He spoke a little with himself before answering to Eurydice "There is someone" His smile grew "Not long ago we got married" Erudice smiled, happiness in the voice of Sefiro was contagious, for a moment she forgot his own sadness.

"Oh! I hope you are very happy"

Sefiro did something he usually wouldn’t do and was securing Eurydice all the way through the underworld, even if she didn’t have her payment, Charon took them both across the river and he stayed close when the judges evaluated the lady, Sefiro still didn't overcome his slight grudge against Rhadamanthus, however he was lenient since the judge only did his job and knew perfectly well what kind of garbage could put one foot in front of them, her last stop was the Elysian fields.

"You still haven’t told me who you really are" Surrounded by all those exuberants and full of life fields, death didn’t seem like such a bad place.

"I didn’t lie to you when I told you my name" Eurydice didn't care that he was a god or a spectre, she took Sefiro’s hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I know it’s a lot for me to ask you this, but…"

"Please, until the moment when our destiny is to meet again take care of Orpheus for me" Tears spilled from his eyes "He is reckless at times and very tenacious, I don’t want him to get hurt because of me…, if I could…" His voice broke, but Sefiro didn’t let go of his hands and make her look at him one more time.

"He’ll be fine" He assured her, but he didn’t promise anything and she understood, but something in his green eyes made her believe it would be okay.

Fin


End file.
